POT ENVY

For years my husband held a monthly poker party and each month I would prepare a different menu; one month was Italian, another Mexican, another the Indoor Picnic, but after awhile, I ran out of "themes" for the parties. 

One of my brothers was known as The Soup Nazi because he liked Seinfeld and also because he made a great variety of delicious soups and breads. The Soup Nazi  suggested that we should have a variety of soups and he suggested that everybody could bring a different soup. The Soup Nazi, of course, had to outshine everyone else as he brought his famous "Caldo Gallego". The only other entries were navy beans and vegetable soup.

As the poker-playing was a male-only activity, the testosterone level was usually high at those get-togethers, and the women had to find other activities to pursue after dinner.  The month we served  Soup and Sandwiches,  I had invited a woman to teach us wreath-making.

 I knew that the world had changed forever when I heard my deer-hunting brother and my sports-minded nephew discussing cookware! Pointing out the three large pots on the kitchen stove, my brother said, "Well, I prefer the Belgique over the Circulon."

My nephew admitted that he had "pot envy" because his cookware was merely Farberware. Another brother, standing in the doorway, dipping bread in his bowl of soup, said, "What next, boys, flower arranging or poker?"